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A full-scale rocket motor fires from the Aerojet facility in Sacramento, Calif. This test will help in the development of NASA's Orion jettison motor that is being designed to separate the spacecraft's launch abort system from the crew module during launch. (Image credit: Aerojet)

JSC2009-E-119858 (May 2009)--- Built by Aerojet, Orion's jettison motor was prepared for shipment from Sacramento, Calif to the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for the first test, called Pad Abort-1, of the launch abort system. The abort system will be capable of pulling the crew module away from the Ares 1 crew launch vehicle within milliseconds in the event of an emergency on the pad or during the initial ascent phase. Photo credit: NASA/Aerojet

JSC2009-E-119860 (May 2009)--- Built by Aerojet, Orion's jettison motor was prepared for shipment from Sacramento, Calif to the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for the first test, called Pad Abort-1, of the launch abort system. The abort system will be capable of pulling the crew module away from the Ares 1 crew launch vehicle within milliseconds in the event of an emergency on the pad or during the initial ascent phase. Photo credit: NASA/Aerojet

JSC2009-E-121677 (May 2009)--- Built by Aerojet, Orion's jettison motor was prepared for shipment from Sacramento, Calif to the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for the first test, called Pad Abort-1, of the launch abort system. The abort system will be capable of pulling the crew module away from the Ares 1 crew launch vehicle within milliseconds in the event of an emergency on the pad or during the initial ascent phase. Photo credit: NASA/Aerojet

JSC2009-E-121679 (May 2009)--- Built by Aerojet, Orion's jettison motor was prepared for shipment from Sacramento, Calif to the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for the first test, called Pad Abort-1, of the launch abort system. The abort system will be capable of pulling the crew module away from the Ares 1 crew launch vehicle within milliseconds in the event of an emergency on the pad or during the initial ascent phase. Photo credit: NASA/Aerojet